*<do name="Elgin &amp; Winter Garden Theatres" alt="" address="189 Yonge Street" directions="Yonge Subway line to Queen Station" phone="416-872-5555" url="http://www.heritagefdn.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_1_2374_1.html" hours="" price="" lat="" long="">These two theatres are the last remaing Edwardian stacked theatres in the world. They were opened in 1913, showing mainly Vaudeville acts. After the decline of Vaudeville, the upper level Winter Garden closed and the lower level Elgin was converted into a cinema. By the 1970s the Elgin was showing a mixture of B-movies and pornography, but in the 1980s the Ontario Heritage Foundation bought both theatres and restored them to their original glory. They now show mainly Broadway plays and musicals and serve as venues for the Toronto International Film Festival.</do>

Revision as of 02:00, 17 November 2008

Yonge Street is one of the oldest streets in Toronto, but few of its current buildings date back to much before 1900. It is one of Toronto's premiere shopping streets, with an eclectic mix of high end shops and dollar stores. Moreover, the Toronto subway runs under Yonge Street from King Street to Finch Avenue, making access to it extremely convenient.

Contents

Get in

See

A visitor might want to start at Front Street, as the section of Yonge between Queens Quay and Front is lightly developed and has little to offer a visitor.

Union Station Toronto's oldest train station, now in its third incarnation, is a marvel of architecture, and a central hub for regional transportation as well as a connection to the subway and streetcar systems. A trip on one of many GO Trains is a great way to see some more of the city.

Hockey Hall of Fame At Front and Yonge in BCE Place. The Hall was relocated to its current location in 1992 and now features a large number of interactive exhibits. BCE Place, as well as having a number of shops and being part of the Underground City.

St. Lawrence Market, Two blocks east of Yonge on Front. One of the oldest continuously operating food markets on the continent, featuring fresh food from across the country. It is renowned for its choice of fresh fish and cheese, although just about anything edible can be found there.

North Market open as a farmer's market, featuring fresh produce, meat, eggs and fish, often from merchants as far away as Eastern Canada. The North Market also is open every sunday as an antique market.

North of Bloor, the density falls off, but there are still sights to see. Just south of St. Clair avenue is the home of CHUM radio, still the most popular station in the city. Just north of St. Clair is the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, one of the oldest and largest in the city. Near Summerhill Station at the railway tracks is the former North Toronto Station. An old railway station become LCBO still looks the part. At Davisville Avenue is the home of the original TTC subway yard, which is visible from the street, next to the TTC headquarters, which often has transit exhibits on display on the ground floor.

Do

AMC Cinema north-east corner of Dundas & Yonge. - one of the first new movie houses on Yonge in decades.

Elgin & Winter Garden Theatres, 189 Yonge Street (Yonge Subway line to Queen Station), ☎416-872-5555, [1]. These two theatres are the last remaing Edwardian stacked theatres in the world. They were opened in 1913, showing mainly Vaudeville acts. After the decline of Vaudeville, the upper level Winter Garden closed and the lower level Elgin was converted into a cinema. By the 1970s the Elgin was showing a mixture of B-movies and pornography, but in the 1980s the Ontario Heritage Foundation bought both theatres and restored them to their original glory. They now show mainly Broadway plays and musicals and serve as venues for the Toronto International Film Festival.

Buy

Hudson Bay Company's Queen Street Store, at Yonge and Richmond.

Eaton's Centre, across Queen Street. One of the largest downtown malls in the world with hundreds of prestige stores and two food courts catering for every taste.

Sears downtown store at Dundas & Yonge at the north end of the Eaton's Centre.

The strip of Yonge between Dundas and Gerrard, although a little run down and not a little sleazy (with strip clubs and porn shops both being part of the ambience), is a favourite of Torontonian's looking for bargains.

HMV store - Branches throughout Toronto, with the main branch being the three-storey store on Yonge just north of Dundas.

Apple Store Eaton Centre - Browse for the latest technologies, get help from an on site 'genius', or simply admire the industrial design of the latest Apple products.

Sam The Record Man - A Toronto institution with the gigantic, record-shaped flashing neon lights closed its doors in June 2007. The city has declared the sign historic and the neighbouring Ryerson University has acquired the space for its expanding campus.

World's Biggest Book Store Just north and west of Dundas, True to its name, is the largest book store under one roof in the world and a browser's paradise with all the best sellers and thousands of bargain titles.

College Park at College/Carlton, a small shopping mall in the old Eaton's College Street store. It's the current home of the downtown location of Winner's, a favourite of Toronto's bargain hunters looking for brand name clothing.

Maple Leaf Gardens, Just east of Yonge on Carlton, One of hockey's meccas - , which is slated for conversion over the next few years into shopping mall.

Between College and Bloor are dozens of small shops, including several used book stores, comics stores, used record stores, dollar stores and just about everything else you can imagine. Although the stock may be a little run down, the area is safe, clean, busy and popular day and night.

Yonge & Bloor is one of the main intersections of the city, with Toronto's main subway lines meeting at this point. This is home to the Hudson Bay's flagship store in the Hudson Bay Centre, part of a mini underground city that links it with Cumberland Terrace and the Manulife Centre. This corner is home to some of the finest stores in the city, including Holt Renfrew. A trip west along Bloor will be worthwhile for any shopper looking for the best the city has to offer.

Yonge & Eglinton is also a busy corner, featuring stores and restaurants. Just south of Eglinton is The Art Shoppe, a must visit for anyone who likes interior design. North of Eglinton, mixed in with smaller neighbourhood stores, is the main branch of Sporting Life.

Once Yonge reaches Sheppard Avenue (where the Sheppard Avenue subway line runs), you find yourself in another downtown - this time downtown North York. Once a street of neighbourhood shops, it is now full of office buildings, condominiums, and worthwhile shopping. Yonge Sheppard Centre features the Grande Cinema along with other shops. At North York Centre, there is the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts, Mel Lastman Square, and Empress Walk (featuring the area's best shopping with a Future Shop, Staples, Loblaws and cinema all under one roof).

Although the subway ends at Finch, the shopping doesn't, and one avenue north at Steeles is Centerpoint Mall, featuring three anchor stores and loads of free parking - a unique feature along Yonge Street this far south.

Just a short few blocks north of Steeles is Doncaster Avenue, home to a kilometre-long strip of outlets of all kinds. If you don't feel like walking, it is best accessible by car, or by York Region Transit Route 2 from Finch Station.

Eat

Shopsy's, across the street from BCE Place on Front, featuring fine deli food.

North of Lawrence Avenue, Yonge dips into Hogg's Hollow, part of the Don River ravine system. One of Toronto's oldest buildings sits just south of York Mills/Wilson, and it has recently been converted from a tavern to a fine restaurant.

Splurge

Located one block west at Bay and Front Streets is one of Toronto's oldest and finest hotels, the Royal York. Right across from Union Station, you can't miss the huge red sign. At King, just a block or two east is the renowned King Edward Hotel, built in 1903 and equally prestigious.